A Colorado air quality commission is poised to adopt some of the smartest and toughest pollution control rules in the nation when it comes to oil and gas operations.

Dan Grossman, Rocky Mountain regional director of the Environmental Defense Fund, spoke to The Denver Post recently about the rules that are pending before the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission.

Speaking on The Roundup, a public affairs discussion conducted by the Denver Post editorial board, Grossman said the rules were a consensus effort between environmental interests and some of the bigger operators in the oil and gas industry — Anadarko, Encana and Noble Energy.

He stressed that the rules were crafted with an eye toward not penalizing smaller operators, and not over-regulating low-producing sources with a lower potential for emissions.

Just months ago, Republicans got away with a massive upward redistribution of wealth, raiding $1.5 trillion from the Treasury and sticking future generations with the bill. Now, they're going for more.